Conventionally, there is a game where shooting is performed at a target, displayed on a display apparatus, using a shooting device. A game apparatus for performing the shooting game includes a shooting device for performing shooting, and attack/defense input means for selecting and inputting an attack state or a defense state. In the shooting game apparatus, when a player has operated the attack/defense input means to select the attack state, shooting is performed, on the basis of an input from the shooting device, at an enemy that appears in a game space. When the player has operated the attack/defense input means to select the defense state, a virtual player in the game space is caused to take a danger avoidance action.
In the attack/defense input means of the shooting game apparatus, however, the defense state is selected as a result of the player stepping on a pedal. Accordingly, such an operation is totally different from and far removed from the danger avoidance action to be taken by the virtual player. This may cause the player performing the operation to lose the impression of being in a virtual world.
Therefore, it is an object of an exemplary embodiment to provide a storage medium having stored thereon a game program capable of improving virtual reality by causing a player object in a virtual world to take action in accordance with an operation of a user, and a game apparatus, a game system, and a game processing method that are capable of improving virtual reality by causing a player object in a virtual world to take action in accordance with an operation of a user.
To achieve the above object, the exemplary embodiment may employ, for example, the following configurations. It is understood that when the description of the scope of the appended claims is interpreted, the scope should be interpreted only by the description of the scope of the appended claims. If the description of the scope of the appended claims contradicts the description of these columns, the description of the scope of the appended claims has priority.
In an exemplary configuration of a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a game program according to the exemplary embodiment, a game program is executed by a computer of a game apparatus capable of displaying an image on a portable display apparatus that outputs at least body state data based on an attitude and/or a motion of the portable display apparatus body and touch position data based on a touch position on a touch panel provided on a surface of a display screen of the portable display apparatus. The game program causing the computer to execute: controlling, on the basis of the body state data, an action of a player object placed in a virtual world; determining, on the basis of a position and/or an attitude of the player object, whether or not the player object has received an attack from another object; generating, when the player object has received a predetermined attack from another object, an attack effect image representing an effect of the predetermined attack; generating a first image by superimposing the attack effect image on an image of the virtual world viewed from the player object, or on an image of the virtual world including at least the player object; displaying the first image on the portable display apparatus; and repairing, when the attack effect image is displayed on the display screen, the effect of the predetermined attack in an area in the attack effect image in accordance with a touch operation performed on the touch panel, the area overlapping a predetermined range whose center is the touch position indicated by the touch position data.
It should be noted that the game apparatus may be an apparatus that performs game processing and generates an image based on the game processing, or may be a versatile apparatus such as a general personal computer. The portable display apparatus may have a size small enough to be carried by a user. Typically, the portable display apparatus may be a display apparatus that allows the user to view an image displayed thereon by holding it with both hands. Further, as in a terminal apparatus according to the embodiment described later, the portable display apparatus may or may not include components other than: means for outputting at least data based on the attitude and/or the motion of the portable display apparatus body; means for outputting touch position data based on a touch position on a touch panel provided on a surface of a display screen of the portable display apparatus; and a display screen that displays the first image.
Based on the above, it is possible to control the action of a player object on the basis of the attitude and the motion of a portable display apparatus, and therefore possible to cause the player object to take the action of avoiding an attack from another object on the basis of the attitude and the motion of the portable display apparatus. This makes it possible to provide a user, performing the above operation, with a feeling as if being in a virtual world. Further, an attack effect image to be displayed on a display apparatus of the portable display apparatus when a predetermined attack has been received makes it possible to repair the effect of the predetermined attack by performing a touch operation. Accordingly, when an attack has been received, the effect of the attack is displayed on the display apparatus of the portable display apparatus that is used to avoid attacks, and it is also possible to repair the effect by touching an image representing the effect of the received attack. This makes it possible to provide the user, operating the portable display apparatus, with a feeling as if having received an attack in the virtual world, and also provide the user with a feeling as if actually repairing the effect of the attack received in the virtual world. The attack avoidance operation, the display when an attack has been received, and the operation of repairing the effect of the received attack can be thus performed successively, whereby it is possible to improve virtual reality dramatically.
In addition, the game program may further cause the computer to execute calculating an attitude and/or a motion of the portable display apparatus on the basis of the body state data. In this case, at least one of a direction, the attitude, and the position of the player object in the virtual world may be controlled on the basis of the calculated attitude and/or motion of the portable display apparatus.
Based on the above, it is possible to calculate the attitude and/or the motion of the portable display apparatus using body state data output from the portable display apparatus, and control the action of the player object (at least one of the direction, the attitude, and the position of the player object) on the basis of the attitude and/or the motion of the portable display apparatus.
In addition, when the player object and another object have collided with each other in the virtual world, it may be determined, on the basis of the direction, the attitude, and the position of the player object in the virtual world, that the player object has received an attack.
Based on the above, the player object can avoid an attack on the basis of the direction, the attitude, and the position of the player object. This enables the operation of avoiding an attack on the basis of the attitude and the motion of the portable display apparatus capable of changing at least one of the direction, the attitude, and the position of the player object.
In addition, when a specific portion of the player object has collided with another object in the virtual world, it may be determined, on the basis of the direction, the attitude, and the position of the player object in the virtual world, that the player object has received an attack. When the player object has received the attack at the specific portion, the attack effect image representing an effect of the attack may be generated.
Based on the above, for example, a specific portion may be set with respect to the direction of the player object such as the facial surface or the front surface of the player object, whereby it is possible to avoid an attack on the basis of the facing direction of the player object even when another object has collided with the player object. This enables the attack avoidance operation even when the player object is caused to rotate on the basis of the attitude and the motion of the portable display apparatus.
In addition, the action of the player object may be controlled such that the player object rotates or moves in accordance with an angle by which a direction of the portable display apparatus body is changed.
Based on the above, the user can control the action of the player object by changing the direction of the portable display apparatus.
In addition, the action of the player object may be controlled such that the greater a change in the angle by which the direction of the portable display apparatus body is changed, the greater the player object rotates or moves.
Based on the above, the user can control the amount of movement (including the amount of rotational movement) of the player object on the basis of the amount of change in the attitude and/or the position of the portable display apparatus.
In addition, the attitude and/or the motion of the portable display apparatus may be calculated with respect to a predetermined direction in real space. On the basis of the attitude and/or the motion of the portable display apparatus with respect to the predetermined direction in real space, at least one of the direction, the attitude, and the position of the player object may be controlled with respect to a direction that corresponds to the predetermined direction and is set in the virtual world.
Based on the above, on the basis of the attitude and/or the motion of the portable display apparatus with respect to a predetermined direction in real space, it is possible to control at least one of the direction, the attitude, and the position of the player object with respect to a predetermined direction that corresponds to the predetermined direction in real space and is included in the virtual world.
In addition, an attitude and/or a motion of the portable display apparatus may be calculated with respect to a direction of gravity in real space, using the direction of gravity as the predetermined direction. On the basis of the attitude and/or the motion of the portable display apparatus with respect to the direction of gravity in real space, at least one of the direction, the attitude, and the position of the player object may be controlled with respect to a direction corresponding to a direction of gravity set in the virtual world.
Based on the above, on the basis of the attitude and/or the motion of the portable display apparatus with respect to the direction of gravity, it is possible to control at least one of the direction, the attitude, and the position of the player object with respect to the same direction of gravity.
In addition, at least the attitude and/or the motion of the portable display apparatus that are obtained by rotating the portable display apparatus about the direction of gravity in real space may be calculated. On the basis of the attitude and/or the motion of the portable display apparatus that are obtained by rotating the portable display apparatus about the direction of gravity in real space, at least one of the direction, the attitude, and the position of the player object may be controlled such that the player object rotates about the direction of gravity set in the virtual world.
Based on the above, it is possible to control at least one of the direction, the attitude, and the position of the player object so as to direct the player object leftward and rightward in the virtual world by directing the portable display apparatus leftward and rightward in real space.
In addition, at least the attitude and/or the motion of the portable display apparatus that are obtained by swinging the portable display apparatus upward and downward about a horizontal direction perpendicular to the direction of gravity in real space may be calculated. On the basis of the attitude and/or the motion of the portable display apparatus that are obtained by swinging the portable display apparatus upward and downward about the horizontal direction in real space, at least one of the direction, the attitude, and the position of the player object may be controlled such that the player object rotates about a horizontal direction set in the virtual world.
Based on the above, it is possible to control at least one of the direction, the attitude, and the position of the player object so as to direct the player object upward and downward in the virtual world by directing the portable display apparatus upward and downward in real space.
In addition, at least the attitude and/or the motion of the portable display apparatus that are obtained by rotating the portable display apparatus about two axes orthogonal to a perspective direction of, and perpendicular to, the display screen of the portable display apparatus may be calculated. At least one of the direction, the attitude, and the position of the player object may be controlled such that in accordance with the attitude and/or the motion of the portable display apparatus that are obtained by rotating the portable display apparatus about the two axes, the player object rotates about two axes that correspond to the two axes in real space and are included in the virtual world.
Based on the above, it is possible to control at least one of the direction, the attitude, and the position of the player object so as to direct the player object upward, downward, leftward, and rightward in the virtual world by moving the portable display apparatus so as to rotate about two axes orthogonal to the perspective direction of a display screen of the portable display apparatus in real space.
In addition, at least the attitude and/or the motion of the portable display apparatus that are obtained by rotating the portable display apparatus about an axis along a width direction of the display screen and an axis along a height direction of the display screen may be calculated, each axis being orthogonal to the perspective direction. At least one of the direction, the attitude, and the position of the player object may be controlled such that: in accordance with the attitude and/or the motion of the portable display apparatus that are obtained by rotating the portable display apparatus about the axis along the width direction, the player object rotates about a horizontal axis in the virtual world; and in accordance with the attitude and/or the motion of the portable display apparatus that are obtained by rotating the portable display apparatus about the axis along the height direction, the player object rotates about a vertical axis in the virtual world.
Based on the above, it is possible to control at least one of the direction, the attitude, and the position of the player object so as to direct the player object upward, downward, leftward, and rightward in the virtual world by moving the portable display apparatus so as to rotate about the height direction and the width direction of the display screen of the portable display apparatus in real space.
In addition, the game program may further cause the computer to execute setting a first virtual camera for generating an image of the virtual world viewed from the player object or an image of the virtual world including at least the player object, and controlling an attitude and/or a position of the first virtual camera on the basis of the calculated attitude and/or motion of the portable display apparatus. In this case, the first image may be generated by superimposing the attack effect image on the image of the virtual world viewed from the first virtual camera.
Based on the above, the attitude and/or the motion of the first virtual camera for generating an image of the virtual world to be displayed on the portable display apparatus are controlled on the basis of the attitude and the motion of the portable display apparatus. This makes it possible, for example, in accordance with the user directing the portable display apparatus in the direction that they wish to view, to provide the user with an image as if peeping at the virtual world through the portable display apparatus, and provide the user with a feeling as if being in the virtual world.
In addition, a direction of a line of sight of the first virtual camera may be controlled so as to be the same as the controlled direction of the player object.
Based on the above, in accordance with a change in the direction of the player object, also the direction of the line of sight of the first virtual camera changes. As a result, the position and the attitude of the first virtual camera and the direction of the player object are controlled on the basis of the attitude and/or the motion of the portable display apparatus. This makes it possible, in accordance with the user directing the portable display apparatus in the direction that they wish to view, to change the direction of the player object, and provide the user with an image as if peeping at the virtual world through the portable display apparatus. It is also possible to provide the user with a feeling as if being in the virtual world. Further, the direction of the player object can be set on the basis of the attitude of the portable display apparatus, and the virtual world viewed in the direction of the player object is displayed on the portable display apparatus. This achieves the operation of setting the direction of the player object in an intuitive manner. This facilitates setting the direction of the player object to the direction desired by the user.
In addition, the portable display apparatus may include at least one of a gyro sensor and an acceleration sensor. In this case, the attitude and/or the motion of the portable display apparatus may be calculated on the basis of data output from the at least one of the gyro sensor and the acceleration sensor.
Based on the above, using the data that is output from the gyro sensor and indicates the angular velocity generated in the portable display apparatus and/or the data that is output from the acceleration sensor and indicates the acceleration generated in the portable display apparatus, it is possible to accurately calculate the attitude and the motion of the portable display apparatus.
In addition, an image that hinders a field of view toward the virtual world when superimposed on the image of the virtual world may be generated as the attack effect image. When the image is superimposed on the image of the virtual world, the area in the attack effect image that overlaps the predetermined range may be repaired so that the field of view toward the virtual world is not hindered.
Based on the above, when a specific attack has been received, the field of view toward the virtual world from the display apparatus of the portable display apparatus is hindered. This worsens the conditions in which the user plays the game, and therefore increases the level of difficulty of the game. A touch operation may be performed on the part where the field of view is hindered, whereby the effect of the attack is repaired in the periphery of the touch position. This enables the operation of repairing the effect of the attack in an intuitive manner. This makes it possible to improve virtual reality.
In addition, image data indicating the first image may be output to the portable display apparatus. The portable display apparatus may include an image data acquisition unit. The image data acquisition unit acquires the image data output from the game apparatus. In this case, a display screen of the portable display apparatus may display the first image indicated by the image data acquired by the image data acquisition unit.
Based on the above, the portable display apparatus can function as a so-called thin-client terminal, which does not perform information processing such as game processing.
In addition, the game program may further cause the computer to execute generating compression image data by compressing the image data indicating the first image. In this case, the generated compression image data may be output to the portable display apparatus. The image data acquisition unit may acquire the compression image data output from the game apparatus. The portable display apparatus may further include a display image decompression unit. The display image decompression unit decompresses the compression image data to obtain the image data indicating the first image. In this case, the display screen of the portable display apparatus may display the first image indicated by the image data that has been acquired by the image data acquisition unit and has been decompressed by the display image decompression unit.
Based on the above, the first image is decompressed and then output from the game apparatus to the portable display apparatus. This makes it possible to output the first image at a high speed, and reduce delay caused between the generation of the first image and the display of the first image on the portable display apparatus.
In addition, besides the first image, a second image representing the virtual world may be further displayed on another display apparatus connected to the game apparatus.
It should be noted that said another display apparatus described above is a display apparatus connected to the game apparatus, like a monitor 2 according to the embodiment described later. Said another display apparatus may be a component separate from the portable display apparatus, and may be any apparatus so long as it is capable of displaying the second image generated by the game apparatus. For example, said another display apparatus described above may be integrated with the game apparatus (in a single housing).
Based on the above, when processing based on the operation of moving and changing the attitude of the portable display apparatus is performed, it is possible to display the results of the processing not only on the portable display apparatus but also on said another display apparatus connected to the game apparatus. This enables the user to use, in accordance with the state of the operation or the user's preference, either one of images displayed on, for example, two apparatuses, and also view an image suitable for an operation of the user. Further, it is possible to use an image displayed on said another display apparatus connected to the game apparatus, as, for example, an image to be viewed by another person different from the user. This makes it possible to provide a viewing environment suitable also for the case where a plurality of people view the results of the processing.
In addition, the game program may further cause the computer to execute generating compression image data by compressing the image data indicating the first image. In this case, the generated compression image data may be output to the portable display apparatus, and, besides the compression image data, image data indicating the second image may be output to said another display apparatus without being compressed. The portable display apparatus may include an image data acquisition unit and a display image decompression unit. The image data acquisition unit acquires the compression image data output from the game apparatus. The display image decompression unit decompresses the compression image data to obtain the image data indicating the first image. In this case, a display screen of the portable display apparatus may display the first image indicated by the image data that has been acquired by the image data acquisition unit and has been decompressed by the display image decompression unit.
Based on the above, the first image is decompressed and then output from the game apparatus to the portable display apparatus. This makes it possible to output the first image at a high speed, and reduce delay caused between the generation of the first image and the display of the first image on the portable display apparatus.
In addition, an image including the player object in the virtual world viewed from a point of view different from a point of view toward the virtual world for generating the first image may be displayed as the second image on said another display apparatus.
Based on the above, the same virtual world is displayed not only on the portable display apparatus but also on said another display apparatus, and images of the virtual world that are different in the point of view are displayed thereon. This enables the user to use, in accordance with the state of the operation or the user's preference, either one of the images displayed on the two apparatuses when performing an operation.
In addition, a point of view toward the virtual world for generating the second image may be set at a position further away from the player object than a point of view toward the virtual world for generating the first image is from the player object. A range wider than a range of the virtual world represented by the first image may be displayed as the second image on said another display apparatus.
Based on the above, an image of the virtual world in a display range wider than that of an image of the virtual world displayed on the portable display apparatus is displayed on said another display apparatus connected to a game apparatus. This makes it possible to display on each display apparatus, for example, an image suitable for an operation of the user when the state of the virtual world is presented to the user.
In addition, a point of view for generating the second image may be set at a position of viewing from a bird's-eye view the player object in the virtual world. An image obtained by viewing from a bird's-eye view the player object placed in the virtual world may be displayed as the second image on said another display apparatus.
Based on the above, the same virtual world is displayed not only on the portable display apparatus but also on said another display apparatus, and an image of the virtual world obtained by looking down upon it is displayed on said another display apparatus. This makes it possible to display on each display apparatus, for example, an image suitable for an operation of the user when the state of the virtual world is presented to the user.
In addition, the exemplary embodiment may be carried out in the forms of a game apparatus and a game system, each including units that perform the above processes, and a game processing method including the above operations.
The exemplary embodiment makes it possible to improve virtual reality by causing a player object in a virtual world to take action in accordance with an operation of a user.
These and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the exemplary embodiment will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.